Paris 16 1959

Robert Frank shot this contact sheet, "Paris 16," using film and a camera. It's like looking at an artist’s sketchbook, a peek into the process of how a photographer works through a scene. The texture is raw and immediate, with the grain of the film and the unedited frames laid bare. Each image offers a different perspective, a slight variation on a theme, as if Frank were circling his subject, searching for the perfect shot. The high contrast adds drama, turning everyday scenes into stark, almost abstract compositions. Look at the frame of the crowd standing on the sidewalk. It captures a sense of spontaneous reality. Frank’s work reminds me a bit of Garry Winogrand, another street photographer who wasn’t afraid to capture the messy, unscripted moments of life. Like their work, this piece embraces the beauty of imperfection, reminding us that art is often found in the act of seeing, rather than in the thing seen.